Modern motor vehicles provide many software-controlled features or functions to accommodate the needs and desires of drivers and passengers and to comply with the regulations of governmental agencies. Such features are generally controlled by software programmed into various modules or electronic control units (ECUs) located at different places within the vehicle. The ECUs and the signal paths to and from the ECUs and the hardware devices they control can be thought of as forming a high-speed computer network that is included within the vehicle. Each ECU includes software for its particular vehicle system, such as application software to perform various control functions, and associated calibration software to configure the application software. From time to time, the ECU software is updated to reflect software improvements, to enable or disable user preferences, and/or to patch or correct the existing software. Updating the ECU software typically involves reflashing the program code stored in flash memory to replace the existing software modules with new software modules.
For various reasons, it can be burdensome for ECU suppliers to preprogram ECUs to suit the needs and specifications of the vehicle manufacturers. Accordingly, some ECU suppliers now provide the vehicle manufacturer with generically programmed ECUs, which are later re-programmed with the vehicle-unique ECU software by the vehicle manufacturer. Such re-programming may require reflashing the preexisting program code provided by the ECU suppliers.
The increasing use of ECUs and the number of software programs used by ECUs has prompted ECU vendors and vehicle manufacturers to investigate the use of efficient and economic flash programming techniques. Nonetheless, there remains a need and desire to have an improved methodology for re-programming ECUs in vehicles. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.